Simulation of the Propagation of Tsunamis in Coastal Regions by a Two-Dimensional Non-Hydrostatic Shallow Water Solver

Due to the enormous damages and losses of human lives in the inundated regions, the simulation of the propagation of tsunamis in coastal areas has received an increasing interest of the researchers. We present a 2D depth-integrated, non- hydrostatic shallow waters solver to simulate the propagation of tsunamis, solitary waves and surges in coastal regions. We write the governing continuity and momentum equations in conservative form and discretize the domain with unstructured triangular Generalized Delaunay meshes. We apply a fractional- time-step procedure, where two problems (steps) are consecutively solved. In the first and in the second step, we hypothesize a hydrostatic and a non-hydrostatic distribution of the pressure, respectively. Several literature models, which solve the same set of equations, are based on a fractional-time-step procedure. In the hydrostatic step of these literature solvers, the flow field does not satisfy the depth-integrated continuity equation, since the momentum equations are solved independently of the continuity equation. In both steps of the proposed numerical scheme, the computed flow field satisfies the depth-integrated continuity equation discretized in each computational cell. This is obtained by solving together the governing equations, according to the different numerical procedures adopted in the steps of the algorithm. Wet/dry problems are implicitly embedded in the proposed numerical solver. We present several model applications where analytical or measured reference solutions are available. The computational effort required by the proposed procedure is investigated

Numerical analysis of a new cross-flow type hydraulic turbine for high head and low flow rate

Cross-flow turbines have recently been proposed for energy recovery in aqueducts when the outlet pressure is greater than zero, owing to their constructive simplicity and good efficiency within a large range of flow rates and head drops. In the case of high head drop (higher than 150 m) and relatively small discharge (lower than 0.2 m3/s), the traditional design of these turbines leads to very small widths of the nozzle and the runner; as a consequence, friction losses grow dramatically and efficiency drops down to very low values. Standard Pelton turbines require zero outlet pressure and cannot be used as alternatives. A new counter-pressure hydraulic turbine for high head and low flow rate, called the High Power Recovery System (H-PRS) is proposed. H-PRS presents a different geometry to reduce friction losses inside the nozzle and the runner by widening the two external walls. Several curved baffles are proposed to guide the fluid particles inside the nozzle and to guarantee the right velocity direction at the inlet surface of the runner. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) 3D transient analyses are carried out to measure H-PRS efficiency for different operating conditions and to compute its characteristic curve for different positions of the regulating flap

Numerical Simulations of the Flow Field of a Submerged Hydraulic Jump over Triangular Macroroughnesses

The submerged hydraulic jump is a sudden change from the supercritical to subcritical flow, specified by strong turbulence, air entrainment and energy loss. Despite recent studies, hydraulic jump characteristics in smooth and rough beds, the turbulence, the mean velocity and the flow patterns in the cavity region of a submerged hydraulic jump in the rough beds, especially in the case of triangular macroroughnesses, are not completely understood. The objective of this paper was to numerically investigate via the FLOW-3D model the effects of triangular macroroughnesses on the characteristics of submerged jump, including the longitudinal profile of streamlines, flow patterns in the cavity region, horizontal velocity profiles, streamwise velocity distribution, thickness of the inner layer, bed shear stress coefficient, Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) and energy loss, in different macroroughness arrangements and various inlet Froude numbers (1.7 < Fr1 < 9.3). To verify the accuracy and reliability of the present numerical simulations, literature experimental data were considered

Coupled Electric and Hydraulic Control of a PRS Turbine in a Real Transport Water Network

Although many devices have recently been proposed for pressure regulation and energy harvesting in water distribution and transport networks, very few applications are still documented in the scientific literature. A new in-line Banki turbine with positive outflow pressure and a mobile regulating flap, named PRS, was installed and tested in a real water transport network for pressure and discharge regulation. The PRS turbine was directly connected to a 55 kW asynchronous generator with variable rotational velocity, coupled to an inverter. The start-up tests showed how automatic adjustment of the flap position and the impeller velocity variation are able to change the characteristic curve of the PRS according to the flow delivered by the water manager or to the pressure set-point assigned downstream or upstream of the system, still keeping good efficiency values in hydropower production

Hydropower Potential inWater Distribution Networks: Pressure Control by PATs

Pressure control is one of the main techniques to control leakages in Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) and to prevent pipe damage, improving the delivery standards of a water supply systems. Pressure reducing stations (PRSs) equipped by either pressure reducing valves or motor driven regulating valves are commonly used to dissipate excess hydraulic head in WDNs. An integrated new technical solution with economic and system flexibility benefits is presented which replaces PRSs with pumps used as turbines (PATs). Optimal PAT performance is obtained by a Variable Operating Strategy (VOS), recently developed for the design of small hydropower plants on the basis of valve time operation, and net return determined by both energy production and savings through minimizing leakage. The literature values of both leakages costs and energy tariffs are used to develop a buisness plan model and evaluate the economic benefit of small hydropower plants equipped with PATs. The study shows that the hydropower installation produces interesting economic benefits, even in presence of small available power, that could encourage the leakage reduction even if water savings are not economically relevant, with consequent environmental benefits

Performance Improvement of a Drag Hydrokinetic Turbine

Hydropower is at present in many locations, among all the other possible renewable energy sources, the best one for net cost per unit power. In contrast to traditional installation, based on water storage in artificial basins, free flow river turbines also provide a very low environmental impact due to their negligible effect on solid transport. Among them, kinetic turbines with vertical axis are very inexpensive and have almost zero impact on fish and local fauna. In application to tidal waves and sea waves, where vertically averaged velocities have alternate direction, a Savonius rotor also has the advantage of being productive during the whole time cycle. In this work, the effect of an upstream deflector system mounted upstream of a twisted Savonius rotor inside a channel has been investigated through numerical simulations and experimental tests. Numerical simulations were carried on using the ANSYS FLUENT 17.0 software. Based on this numerical study, it is shown that the proposed deflector system has improved the power coefficient of the Savonius rotor by 14%. The utilization of this new design system is predicted to contribute towards a more efficient use of flows in rivers and channels for electricity production in rural areas

Comparative Analyses between the Zero-Inertia and Fully Dynamic Models of the Shallow Water Equations for Unsteady Overland Flow Propagation

The shallow water equations are a mathematical tool widely applied for the simulation of flow routing in rivers and floodplains, as well as for flood inundation mapping. The interest of many researchers has been focused on the study of simplified forms of the original set of equations. One of the most commonly applied simplifications consists of neglecting the inertial terms. The effects of such a choice on the outputs of the simulations of flooding events are controversial and are an important topic of debate. In the present paper, two numerical models recently proposed for the solution of the complete and zero-inertia forms of the shallow water equations, are applied to several unsteady flow routing scenarios. We simulate synthetic and laboratory scenarios of unsteady flow routing, starting from very simple geometries and gradually moving towards complex topographies. Unlike the studies of the range of validity of the zero-inertia model, based on a small perturbation of the linearized flow model, in unsteady flow propagation over irregular topographies, it is more difficult to specify criteria for the applicability of the simplified set of equations. In analyzing the role of the terms in the momentum equations, we try to understand the effect of neglecting the inertial terms in the zero-inertia formulation. We also analyze the computational costs

Hydraulic Dynamic Calculation and Simulation

Hydraulic dynamics is emerging as a basic concept with applications and important implications for many industrial, civil, and environmental engineering problems [...

The FLO Diffusive 1D-2D Model for Simulation of River Flooding

An integrated 1D-2D model for the solution of the diffusive approximation of the shallow water equations, named FLO, is proposed in the present paper. Governing equations are solved using the MArching in Space and Time (MAST) approach. The 2D floodplain domain is discretized using a triangular mesh, and standard river sections are used for modeling 1D flow inside the section width occurring with low or standard discharges. 1D elements, inside the 1D domain, are quadrilaterals bounded by the trace of two consecutive sections and by the sides connecting their extreme points. The water level is assumed to vary linearly inside each quadrilateral along the flow direction, but to remain constant along the direction normal to the flow. The computational cell can share zero, one or two nodes with triangles of the 2D domain when lateral coupling occurs and more than two nodes in the case of frontal coupling, if the corresponding section is at one end of the 1D channel. No boundary condition at the transition between the 1D-2D domain has to be solved, and no additional variable has to be introduced. Discontinuities arising between 1D and 2D domains at 1D sections with a top width smaller than the trace of the section are properly solved without any special restriction on the time step